2015 News

EFFORT Racing Celebrates Complete Sweep at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Oh., - Riding on a momentum of a double podium weekend in Rounds 12 and 13 at Road America last month, EFFORT Racing advanced on to dominate Founds 14 and 15 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the second year in a row. At the same event in 2014, Ryan Dalziel joined the team, winning both races in commanding a fashion. This weekend, the team again enjoyed great success, winning both poles and both races with Dalziel at the wheel.

In celebration of his one year anniversary, Dalziel earned the Race 1 Pole Position after an impressive GT qualifying session in the No. 31 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Following an excellent launch at the standing start, Dalziel took a several second lead over James Davison and led every lap of the 50 minute race. Despite mid-race cautions bunching the field back together, Dalziel made it look easy as he pulled away from the pack to take his third straight Mid-Ohio win. Teammate Michael Lewis also boasted a strong performance, qualifying the No. 41 Porsche 811 GT3R in 4th position, his best qualifying effort of the 2015 season. Lewis dropped one position on the standing start to 5th, where he remained for the rest of the race. Lap after lap, the young rookie impressively held off McLaren GT Factory Driver Kevin Estre to earn another top five finish.

Dalziel's fastest lap in Race 1 placed him on pole position in Race 2, where again he led every lap of the 50 minute race. In Race 2, Davison's Nissan put up a worthy fight in the opening laps, but Dalziel pulled away in no time, again putting on a Mid-Ohio clinic for the rest of the field. Rookie Michael Lewis started the second race of the weekend in 6th, but dropped to 7th after the standing start, where he battled with Johnny O'Connell for the entirety of the race. In the final third of the race, contact in the field brought Lewis up to 6th, where he remained to the checker.

Five races remain in the Pirelli World Challenge, where Dalziel has a solid chance to win the 2015 Championship. Next up, the series will race at Miller Motorsports Park, Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23.

Quotes

Ryan Dalziel // No. 31 Porsche 911 GT3 RIt was a perfect weekend. We led every session to get double poles and double wins. This track really favors the Porsche. We were quick here last year, and we knew coming in, we knew it would be where we'd have to come together as a team and maximize the weekend. I'm happy with my driving. I didn't seem to make any mistakes or screw up too badly. What a great weekend for EFFORT Racing. It hasn't been an easy year. To get our first win on a weekend where we actually got a double win is pretty special.

Michael Lewis // #41 EFFORT Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RCongratulations to my teammate on his double race weekend from both poles. That's pretty awesome. From the #41 side, we had a decent starts and I enjoyed a nice race and top five finish. It's nice to be in the top 5. Drivers race clean and it's calmer than what I'm used to. Thanks to Stefan Pheiffer for really hooking up the cars in qualifying to get us near the top. The Porsche was really fast, but over the lap, some cars are faster on the straights instead of the corners and vice versa, so it all evens out. Really nice work by EFFORT Racing for getting us a nice Porsche, and I'll work on my starts because the car is really fast over the line.

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About EFFORT RacingPirelli World Challenge team EFFORT Racing was founded in 2012 with a simple goal: to be Champions, both on and off the racetrack. In doing so, EFFORT seeks not only to win races, but to spread an uplifting and encouraging message of hope. The team strives to infuse God's integrity and standards into the passionate and exciting world of racing. At EFFORT Racing, every member of our team comes to win. From our drivers, to our crew, to the folks behind the scenes, the EFFORT Racing family knows that every member of our team is crucial to a winning racing organization.